


Whether near or far (I am always yours)

by admirabletragedy



Series: The Skybridger Assortment [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Ezra Bridger Gets a Hug, Ezra Bridger Needs a Hug, Jedi boyfriends, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25078447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/admirabletragedy/pseuds/admirabletragedy
Summary: A planned celebration takes a turn for the worse when old memories are dragged back to the surface of Ezra’s mind; it’s a good thing Luke’s there to help.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger/Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa/Han Solo
Series: The Skybridger Assortment [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963453
Comments: 6
Kudos: 49





	Whether near or far (I am always yours)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Toomanyfandoms99](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toomanyfandoms99/gifts), [AlwaysandAlso](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysandAlso/gifts).



> The title is from the song “The End of All Things” by Panic! At The Disco.

The first indication that something was wrong presented itself that morning when Leia had joined Luke and Ezra at their table in the canteen. Han - ever-present around Leia - had accompanied her as she did.

They'd both been peacefully eating and idly talking when his twin had slapped the tabletop - rather loudly, may he add - to get their attention.

Luke raised an eyebrow at the disturbance, "Can I help you?"

Leia grinned, swinging her legs over the bench and sitting down opposite them, grabbing the sleeve of Han's shirt so he did the same.

Leia rested her head in her hands, her elbows on the table, and leaned forward, "Guess what, boys..."

Luke looked at Han incredulously, his sister being this enthusiastic in public was flat out strange.

Han merely shrugged, "Don't look at me..." Leia turned to look at him, as well, "She hasn't told me a thing."

Ezra shifted beside him.

A few beats passed without a word before Leia rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, "You people are hopeless." She paused, purposely building tension, "There's going to be a celebration tonight."

"What for?" Luke asked, confused by his twin's announcement.

"The birth of the Rebellion!"

Han rested his chin on his propped-up hand, "Why? There's not really a need for the Rebellion anymore."

He had a point, Luke thought. The Empire had been scattered after the death of Palpatine; while some that opposed the Rebellion remained, they had no power now.

Leia scoffed at Han, who shot her a half-hearted glare in response, "It's to celebrate our journey in defeating the Empire."

She shrugged, "A few others wanted to place the celebration on what was Empire Day but they were outvoted by those who’d rather make it the day of the Rebellion’s first formal gathering."

Luke gave her a curious look, "And which did you vote for?"

Leia plucked a piece of fruit from his plate - blatantly ignoring his affronted look - before answering, "For today. I understand wanting to reclaim Empire Day as ours but it just didn't seem right to me; that should be a day of honoring memories, today should be a happy day, not a sad one."

Luke nodded, he agreed with Leia on that, he would much rather have a day solely dedicated to celebrating the Rebellion's cause than one in which he'd rather acknowledge those who could no longer celebrate with them; not to mention the fact that Empire Day was Ezra’s birthday.

Leia's voice disrupted his thoughts, "The celebration is tonight." She paused, swinging a leg over the bench and standing up, "It'll be fun."

She'd walked back out of the room then - Han close behind - leaving Luke and Ezra as they were before.

Yeah, Luke thinks, Ezra's silence throughout Leia's visit should've been his first tell that something wasn't right. Ezra was never quiet. Sure, he could be silent, processing emotions and thoughts inwardly, but he was never quiet. Ezra would always be moving, whether it be physically or mentally, but for his entire being to be almost still was very strange.

At the time, Luke had brushed it off as nothing big, everyone could have off-days. Looking back, however, Luke could see it was one piece of a looming puzzle.

The next indication that something was off came when they had been sparring a few hours later.

Usually, their 'fights' would drag on for quite a while. Both men had an almost-even fighting ability; Ezra's experience mixed well with Luke's natural talent for quick-learning. They also knew each other well. Both Luke and Ezra had taught each other what they knew, learning from one another's styles and techniques. Thanks to this, during duels they could move around each other in a dance, anticipating each other's moves and countering with their own.

That was how it usually was, which was why Luke was so shocked when he'd managed to disarm Ezra less than an hour in.

Ezra blinked up at him from the floor, where Luke had stood above him, a saber in each hand.

Luke snapped back into motion, turning the lightsabers off - clipping his own to his belt - and offering Ezra a hand.

Ezra took it gratefully, letting Luke pull him to his feet.

"What's going on?"

Ezra arched a brow, "What do you mean?"

Brushing a hand through his bangs, Luke leaned against a table, "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen you so unfocused before."

His boyfriend wasted no time in brushing off his concern, "I'm perfectly fine, Luke."

Luke frowned, "Yeah, I'm not convinced."

Ezra moved forward, gently moving his hands to frame Luke's face, "It's just the past." Ezra paused, letting his shields drop, "Just memories. I'll be fine."

Luke closed his eyes, his nose brushing Ezra's as he searched Ezra's words. Ezra softly sighed as Luke looked in his mind as carefully as a surgeon, straying nowhere far and only examining that which presented itself.

Luke backpedaled as quickly as he'd entered, feeling comforted at what he'd found having matched his boyfriend’s words.

Before he could move to open his eyes, Ezra had closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against Luke’s as though he was something precious.

Luke smiled as Ezra pulled back, letting his eyes flutter open to meet Ezra's gaze.

Ezra's arms dropped to his waist, his hands curling around Luke.

Luke looked at him fondly, "Are you okay going to the celebration tonight? We don't have to, you know."

Ezra's smile was soft and sweet as he gazed up at Luke, "I don't mind going to the celebration, Luke."

"Let me know if you change your mind."

Ezra nodded in assent and Luke's concern was quelled.

Luke put two-and-two together then, assuming that Ezra's quiet nature that day was due to the memory on his mind.

A memory that Luke knew that Ezra could handle on his own; after years of practice, Ezra had a firm grasp on throwing away negative emotions into the Force, not allowing them to fester. Where he once may have harbored these dark emotions, he now overcame them; it was together that they became who they are today, Ezra teaching Luke that it was okay to feel negative emotions, as long as they were conquered, and Luke teaching Ezra that they shouldn’t let their pasts control them.

If Ezra said he was fine, Luke trusted him. Besides, his quick - and consented - look into Ezra's mind had told him as much. Whatever Ezra was currently being reminded of, he was not letting the memory rule over his current state of mind; Luke was proud of him for this.

The rest of the afternoon flowed smoothly, their time being torn between enjoying each other’s company and helping Rebels prepare the base for the evening's celebrations. In fact, as time wore on, Ezra slowly returned back to his usual self, his smile bright and his laugh airy.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before things took a turn for the worse, and unfortunately for Ezra, things _would_ get worse.

Luke and Ezra met Han, Chewie, and Leia in the hallway, waiting for them so that they could walk as a group to the celebration.

For once, the celebration wasn’t formal - to Han and Ezra's delight - and they talked and joked as they made their way outside.

Luke smiled at what he saw upon exiting the building; hanging lights lit up the area,a lively band playing for the gathered group of Rebels. It was nice, seeing everyone so happy.

Ezra placed a hand on his shoulder, "Looks like our hard work paid off, huh?"

Luke laid his hand over Ezra's, positively beaming, "Yeah. It did."

Hours passed by without any issues, it wasn't until much later that their peace was shattered.

Luke, Ezra, Leia, and Han had been standing together, apart from the group. It was thanks to this that they never heard Mon's announcement of a fireworks show.

One second they were standing on a hillside, enjoying the clear view of the stars; the next, the comforting silence was shattered by a loud bang. They all startled at the sound, which was followed by an explosion of red in the sky.

It was Ezra however, that had turned as still as stone, wide-eyes betraying his fear.

"Ezra?"

Another firework went off - cutting Luke off - and Ezra's hands snapped to cover his ears.

Ignoring Leia and Han, Luke went and stood in front of Ezra, worriedly moving his hands over Ezra's.

The man had snapped his eyes closed, but opened them at Luke's touch, staring at him with a frantic look.

Luke moved to push away Ezra's hands gently, "Ezra. Can you let me see what's going on?"

Ezra hesitated, but he knew that Luke wouldn't look unless given permission. Nodding in consent, Ezra dropped his forehead to Luke's. Sighing to ground himself, Luke traced gentle circles on Ezra's face as he dove into his boyfriend’s head.

Ezra's mind was so frantic that Luke could barely make sense of it; he gently helped untangle the most immediate thoughts of panic, in an effort to help calm Ezra as well as give Luke insight as to what was going on.

_Oh._

Ezra had pushed Luke into a memory of red blaster bolts and terror. Luke watched as though a spectator as a young Ezra hid in an underground room, shaking in fear as screams and shots echoed against the walls.

Luke was thrown out of Ezra's mind at the sound of a loud boom.

Gasping against Ezra, Luke drew back to see Ezra had curled in on himself, eyes shut tight and hands clamping hard enough over his ears to leave imprints in his skin.

Ignoring Han and Leia's concern, Luke wrapped an arm around Ezra and began to lead him to the base as fast as possible.

It took longer than Luke would've liked to reach the building, but it helped that upon entering the clearing Chewie had spotted them, clearing a path through the crowd.

Luke gave his old friend a grateful look as the grand doors of the base shut behind them.

Paying no mind to Ezra's tremor, Luke continued to lead them through twisting hallways - sending a quiet thanks to the Force that they hadn't encountered anyone else - before they finally, _finally_ , reached their room.

Luke let out a sigh of relief as their door slid shut behind them, enclosing them in blissful silence.

Luke pushed his hands under Ezra's, slowly pushing them under his boyfriend's in a hope to move them away from his head.

Ezra's eyes moved underneath his eyelids before snapping open.

Seeing they were alone, Ezra let his guard fall away, allowing Luke to move Ezra's hands from his ears with a gentle hum.

Ezra fell forward, wrapping his arms around Luke and burying his face in the blond's neck.

Luke softly hummed the quiet lullaby his aunt would sing to him whenever he grew upset and gently ran a hand through Ezra's hair as they lightly swayed in place.

It was a while before Ezra pulled back, giving Luke a grateful look with watery eyes.

Luke kissed his forehead, hoping to convey to Ezra that he didn’t need to thank him.

Luke led his boyfriend back to the edge of their bed, letting Ezra sit down before he began to pull off Ezra's boots before kicking off his own.

Ezra watched silently as Luke threw his shirt and pants into their laundry basket, before pulling on a soft white tee.

Luke moved back in front of Ezra with a soft smile; the man pliantly let Luke take off his shirt, resting his head against Luke's stomach as the blond gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Luke glided backward, holding his hands out to Ezra and pulling him up before moving his arms around Ezra's neck, pulling out the hair tie that held together Ezra's messy bun.

Luke followed suit with his own hair, pulling out hair ties before running his fingers through his hair to pull apart his braids.

Chucking the bands to their desk. Luke flopped onto the bed, moving awkwardly to pull the sheets out from under him.

Ezra kicked off his leggings before joining him, pulling up the sheets and curling into Luke's waiting arms.

Luke smiled as he noticed Ezra's once panicked breathing had returned to normal.

Ezra tucked his head into Luke's shoulder, loosely wrapping an arm around Luke's chest; the blond pressed a kiss to the top of Ezra’s head in response.

"I love you." The phrase was whispered but it echoed in Luke's heart.

The blond sighed softly as the room seemed to grow in warmth, the Force a gentle breeze surrounding them.

Luke waved a hand, switching the lights off and plunging them into a new world; the fairy lights Ezra had hung on the adjacent wall set the room in a peaceful glow and Luke felt at home.

"I love you too, Ezra."

They'd be okay, Luke thinks; even on the days they weren’t, they would always have each other.


End file.
